On his way out to the courtyard, Miguel ran into Alfredo and Juan. The men shook hands and walked together the rest of the way. They didn’t speak of the fight to the death that everyone now knew about, judging by the expressions of sympathy and concern being sent toward him. Miguel didn’t want to talk about it anyway. It weighed on his conscience.
Miguel, Alfredo, and Juan helped the Escobar brothers string twinkling white lights around the courtyard and build a 24x24 square dance floor using polished wood pieces. Other members of the family placed drums— timbales, bongos, and congas— at the top edge of the dance floor. Violin, trumpet, and guitar cases sat next to the drums. Someone set up a microphone stand and tested it for sound. Several large round tables that seated eight people were covered in white linen and arranged around the dance floor. Three six-foot long buffet tables were set to one side. Ileana and her sisters also covered them in white linen and disappeared. They shortly returned with sterling silver buffet servers and lit the warmers beneath them.
And then the food followed. Platters of smoked pulled pork, roasted vegetables, tortillas, bowls of mango salsa and guacamole, corn tortilla chips, Spanish rice, refried beans, black beans, and a pot of black bean soup. Miguel’s mouth watered. But even more mouthwatering was his first sight of Julia.
Damn. She appeared prettier than she had this morning. For the festivities, she wore her hair in a side ponytail, secured with a sky-blue ribbon. It cascaded down her left shoulder, drawing attention to her cleavage rising above a strapless sundress. The sky-blue bodice gathered at her breasts and fell like a drape down her body. Tiny white embroidered flowers gave the dress a light and feminine quality. Time stood still. The world fell away.If he died in three days, at least he’d gotten a glimpse of heaven on Earth.
They met near the dance floor. Miguel drank in Julia’s appearance, as if she were the sweetest wine he’d ever tasted. His hand palmed her cheek. He leaned down to kiss her and inhaled deeply of her scent—a heady combination of roses, mimosa, and sandalwood.
“My God. You take my breath away.”
Julia placed her hands on his shoulders, and they kissed again. “And I’m the luckiest woman in the world.” She leaned closer and whispered, “All the teenaged girls are crushing on you.”
Miguel chuckled and offered his arm. “Let’s mingle. But not with your teenaged cousins. I don’t want to fend off my fans.”
“Very funny, Miguel.”
The arrival of the General signaled the beginning of the fiesta. Miguel and Julia moved through the buffet line and carried their plates to the table they were sharing with Ileana, her sisters, and their husbands. Miguel fished in a cooler for two bottles of Mexican soda that he brought back to the table. While they conversed, music blared from Bluetooth speakers.
Miguel took a bite of pulled pork. Its smoky cherry and apple flavor and tenderness caused him to emit a moan of pure pleasure. “Oh, my God. This is the best pulled pork I’ve ever eaten.”
The Escobar sisters thanked him.
“Try my mango salsa with it,” one of the sisters suggested. “The flavors are incredible.”
Miguel spread the salsa on a piece of pork and lifted his fork to his mouth. “Even better.”
Toward the end of the meal, as everyone enjoyed flan and other baked delights for dessert, the live music began. Julia’s uncles took their places at the drums, the violin, and thetrumpet. One of their wives went to stand at the microphone. She smiled at Miguel and beckoned him to join the band. His initial embarrassment made him hesitant, but Julia and her relatives encouraged him to take his place with the others. He draped the guitar strap around his neck and nodded at Julia’s aunt.
“Do you know ‘Sabor a Mí’, the Eydie Gorme and Los Panchos version?”she inquired in Spanish.
“Sí.”
The band played the introductory notes, and she began to sing the lyrics. When it came to the male part of the duet, she turned to him and held out her hand. Surprised that she wanted him to perform with her, Miguel moved next to her without missing a beat and picked up the next line of the song. While they sang, couples stepped onto the dance floor and swayed to the music.
Their next song was an instrumental salsa that was infectious and created a frenzy on the dance floor. Julia’s aunts pulled her into the crowd, and to Miguel’s delight, her body moved in perfect rhythm. She sashayed in front of him, and hot desire shot through him. He couldn’t wait to make love with her later.
He performed two more songs with the band before Marianna, the lead singer, urged him to dance with his fiancée. He set down the guitar and joined Julia in a sexy cha cha. A slow song followed, and Miguel held Julia tight against him. He loved the way she fit perfectly in his arms, as if she were made for him. She rested her head under his chin and wrapped her arms around his torso. They swayed to the soulful music, reveling in the beauty of the night and in each other. When the song ended, Miguel tilted Julia’s face and kissed her with passionate longing. Their embracing drew applause, which brought a blush to Julia’s cheeks and a smile to his lips.
They danced through two more songs, ate again, drank sweet, fruity sangria, and Miguel sang a solo and played a hit by Carlos Santana that brought the evening to an end. He heard talk of the children attending school the next morning, but he didn’t catch where they went. Did they go to school in the nearest town? Or were there age-appropriate classrooms inside the compound where they were homeschooled or were teachers carefully screened to educate them? Miguel cast the questions aside. Such matters shouldn’t concern him.
Only Julia concerned him and the upcoming trial they faced.
They began to assist in cleaning up, but Ileana stopped them. “Go. Be together. Tomorrow the true test of your love and your honor begins.”
“Gracias,” Julia replied, and they both hugged and kissed Ileana on the cheek.
In Miguel’s room, they took their time kissing, caressing, and undressing each other. He whispered, in between sensual kisses, what he intended to do to her to make her experience multiple orgasms and cry his name. To make her beg for even more. She shivered in his arms and accepted his hot mouth on hers. On her neck. Her shoulders. Her breasts.
He told her to lie on the bed on her stomach. Miguel licked and kissed and nipped his way down her back and lower. He slid a finger inside her and found her wet and hot. Rubbing his engorged cock against her, Miguel leaned down and murmured, “Roll over.”
She obeyed. He spread her legs apart and laved her with his tongue. Her body stiffened, then shuddered with release. He continued to arouse her, bringing her to the brink before pulling back. It drove Julia frantic with need.
“Oh God, Miguel! Please let me come!”
He teased her relentlessly while delaying his own sexual gratification until neither could be denied any longer. Miguelthrust into Julia hard and deep, grinding his hips against hers, eagerly seeking that penultimate moment when thunder rocked them.
The earth shattered. They cried each other’s name, rode the waves together with their lips fused, limbs entwined, hands clasped.
